“With Whom I am Well Pleased”
Matthew 3:13–17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (ESV)
Prayer
Heavenly Father, grant us a sensitive conscience that we might recognize and confess our sins to receive the righteousness that Christ won for us. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. Amen.
In Jesus, who has fulfilled all righteousness for you, dear fellow redeemed!
During seminary, I had a job at a wire and harnessing company. I helped in the engineering department to make tests for the products we built to ensure quality control. Whenever I built the test harnesses, I did a lot of soldering and I would use a very hot soldering iron. As I was focused on getting a nice solder joint without touching any of the other wires right next to it, it wasn’t uncommon for me to accidentally burn the tips of my fingers with the soldering iron. At first, when this happened, I’d react: “Ouch!” After a while, I had built up enough callouses, that I would barely notice when I nicked the soldering iron.
I soon thought of my calloused fingers as my own superpower. My wife would ask me to pick something hot up in the kitchen, and depending on the item, I’d pick it up with my bare hands. She would say, “Doesn’t that burn your hands?” I’d say, “No.” My callouses helped me. Then one day, Elise said, “Wouldn’t that be bad for your nerve endings?” She had a good point. My insensitivity to heat was not a strength, but a weakness because now my hands weren’t as sensitive to possible dangers. God gave us sensitive nerve endings for a reason—we need them to help protect our body.
I was proud of my tough calloused hands until I realized it was really to my detriment and could lead to harm. We can often have this attitude toward the sin in our own lives. While calloused and numb hands could result in the loss of a finger or some other hurt, calloused consciences could result in the loss of our own soul.
We live in a conscience numbing world. The common morals once believed and accepted throughout America are no longer common nor accepted. The things our great-grandparents would have been shocked to see or do, are now encouraged by our society. Just turn on the TV and you’ll see lifestyles, ideas, and attitudes that promote things that were once deemed immoral. When we are bombarded with immorality, it slowly numbs even the most sensitive of consciences.
The longer we live in this world the longer we have to grow numb to our own sin. Now of course there is no sin that cannot be forgiven. This is most certainly true. Yet, as soon as we consider our sins not to be damning sins—then we are in grave danger. One Pastor said, “Small sins become great when they are regarded as small” (Law & Gospel: 371). And this can easily happen.
The first time a young person swears they know it is wrong—they feel remorse over it. They know they shouldn’t. But then it happens again and again. Eventually, that foul language becomes part of their vocabulary. They can even become proud and happy about their boldness. But does not Scripture say, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:10) and “whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17) and “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20)?
Do we think of a sin like swearing and using God’s name in vain as a serious sin? If we don’t call our sin a sin, then we are either unrepentant or we are calling God a liar. John says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (I John 1:8).
Do you consider the grudge you are holding on to as a serious sin? Do you think it is a very grave sin to gossip and slander about your neighbor? Do you think it is a serious sin to take something that is not yours or to fail to return something that does not belong to you? What about your pride, greed, or lust?
Scripture says, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). If you commit any sin, you are guilty and deserve the punishment as if you were the most hardened sinner in the world—a murderer, adulterer, and idolator. Scripture warns us, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” (I Cor. 6:9). Any sin deserves the punishment of hell.
Dear friends, this is the very serious nature of our sin. We are speaking the truth when we confess each Sunday that we are poor sinners who by nature sinful and unclean, who have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed and deserve nothing but punishment. We are acknowledging that what God says about our sins is true.
If we are not concerned about our sin or fail to see the grave punishment that it deserves, then our lesson this morning would mean very little. However, if we know the righteousness that we lack, the sin that we desperately need saving from, then this lesson is filled with tremendous comfort for you!
Jesus went to John at the Jordan river to be baptized by him. Naturally, John was hesitant to do so! John knew that Jesus was the Savior of the world. He needed to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. But Jesus responded, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Our very real sin needed very real forgiveness. And this is what Jesus came to accomplish. Jesus was not baptized because he needed the blessings of baptism. Jesus was baptized so that he could give our baptism its cleansing power. Though Jesus began his journey for our salvation in the womb of Mary, it was here at the Jordan river that marked the launching of his public ministry. From here in the Jordan Jesus set out to do what he came to do, establishing his kingdom through the forgiveness of sins. He came “to fulfill all righteousness.”
Some people wonder if it was necessary for Christ to come. Why couldn’t God just forgive us or let the sin of Adam and Eve go? If God were to do this, then he would not be a just God. The consequence of sin is death—separation from God and all that is good. Yet, if God were to just say, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” we would forever wonder if what he said was true. Maybe later he would get frustrated with us again, and bring back up all our past sins, failings, and disobedience. We would live in a constant state of fear.
At his baptism in the Jordan river, Jesus stood in the place of sinners, to put an end to all fear. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man that he might deliver us. Scripture explains, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14–15). By his baptism, Jesus entered in our stead to take upon himself our sins which he had not committed, to wipe them off our guilty slate. He has taken away our sin—which has taken away our fear.
The angel said, “He shall be called Jesus, because he will save the people from their sins.” Jesus went into the water to stand in the place of sinners. He came to do what we could not. He was holy and righteous and yet by taking the sins of the world on his shoulders, he was condemned as the greatest sinner to ever live. Isaiah said, “The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” He pled guilty so that you could be pardoned. Jesus paid the price in full for our sins with his death on the cross. Our sins may be great, but Jesus is a greater Savior!
Have you committed sins deserving of hell? Yes, every single one of your sins deserve it. But do you have a Savior who has taken away every single one of your sins? Do you have a Savior who offers you the righteousness that he alone can give full and free? Yes!
Our dear Lord Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” This call to freedom and peace still rings out today through the inspired Word of God! It’s spoken to you today in the form of: “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
We can’t see these spiritual realities—either the serious nature of our sin or the magnitude of God’s mercy. But they are true. In this conscience-numbing world, we need to daily pray: “Lord, sharpen my conscience, that I may see my sin, and repent of it. For you promise, that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Yet, we also need to pray so that we do not despair: “Lord, help me to believe that Jesus has taken away all my sins and has clothed me with his perfect righteousness.” And we have the greatest comfort in the world. Our sin may be great, but God’s mercy is greater. What’s more, God gives us confidence in his love.
Matthew records, “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Imagine this scene! The heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and the Father speaking from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus earned the Father’s approval! By his baptism, by his holy life, by his innocent suffering and death, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness.
If only we could be as certain of God’s love for us! Wait a minute—we can! The Father’s approval of Jesus is yours. Paul writes, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Because of your baptism, the words spoken to Jesus can be applied to you, “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness for you. He came to deliver you from the fear of death and sin. Jesus has accomplished it all. And this is why he calls for us to acknowledge and repent of our sin. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven. The devil would love for us to minimize the severity of our sin and our need to repent. But Jesus calls out to us through his Word to prick our conscience—to awaken us from sleep. Yet, when we recognize the greatness of our sin, it should not lead us to despair, but to our Lord Jesus. In fact, the seriousness of our sin only magnifies the mercy of Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us.
So dear Christians who have been baptized into the name of Jesus, take heart. By faith in Christ Jesus, you are righteous, the heavens are opened, and God the Father can now say of you as he said of Jesus, “This is My beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.” Amen.